[utkarshmohan86]

Originally Posted by TheGearBox

Wow, what a looker! Especially those wheels. (I'm guessing 20's?)
By the way, I've heard that it is really expensive to buy cars in Singapore. Could you shed some light on that?

It is extremely expensive to buy cars in Singapore. Shedding light would take a full article but let me give a quick summary. Beyond the usual import taxes and GST (which add about 130-150% depending on the value of the car), there is also something called the COE or certificate of entitlement, which is valid for 10 years and is attached to the car. The value of the COE is bid in a free market, and has varied all the way from SGD1 at the time of the financial crisis to SGD100K at its peak. It has settled at about the SGD30K-40K mark in the last few years, and though it's only for new cars, it affects second hand cars price tables as well. There is another complication that not all the tax is lost, but you can recover a percentage of it whenever you de-register the car and after 10 years, you get back 50% of the import taxes when you are forced to de-register or buy a new COE for another 5 or 10 years.

Net net, my rationale is very simple if a bit self serving. In India, a BMW 3 series would cost probably 6-8X of a Suzuki Swift. in Singapore, that ratio is about 2X, since the fixed taxes are so high. Though the absolute outlay is higher, it feels better to save up more and get a premium car instead of paying crazy money for a regular car. Also it rarely makes sense to buy a car new since Singapore's roads are so good that car's don't feel their age. So all in all, you can get away alright despite the initial shock from crazy prices.

Originally Posted by Iyencar

Wow what a beast and lovely description. How is Alpine not voiding the warranty with such extensive mods?

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Why would Alpina void the warranty? It's a BMW heavily modified by Alpina themselves.

Originally Posted by kunalsingh

No wonder this car looked familiar! I was going about my usual morning TeamBHP browsing and saw your car on the home page. Had a solid Deja-Vu moment and I quickly went to search for your channel on Youtube to confirm that it was indeed your car. Great to see you TeamBhp man

I have been following your channel for a while now, and it helps me satisfy my GAS (gear acquisition syndrome). Love your PRS collection and I'm so happy to see a fellow Indian doing so well in Singapore (half my family also lives in Singapore and in fact my sister just returned to SG from India after finishing her 2 week quarantine Dubai).

I must say that you have GREAT taste in both your passion for cars and guitars. I hope we can catch up when I'm in SG next (and I secretly wish to buy a guitar off of your collection, preferably a nice DGT or Tremonti )


P.S. - Also found you on instagram, have sent you a follow request.

Originally Posted by RiderZone

What a lovely car! My boss's boss owns an Alpina B10 that he uses as a daily driver, it's such an understated beauty as well. He seriously injured his left foot recently, but refused to drive anything else to work, which is even more ironic, because he owns a taxi company.

Yes, Alpina has a unique relationship with BMW and in fact are privy to BMW R&D prior to their car's launch so that they can co-develop their cars with BMW. That's why Alpinas have BMW factory warranties and in some countries are sold in BMW showrooms itself.

@kunalsingh thanks for the support. Yes, the PRS collection is always evolving but would love to catch up.

@riderzone the B10 is a beast and an icon in of itself. Can't blame your boss's boss

Originally Posted by karan561

Welcome Utkarsh,

Glad to see an true Alpina (probably the 1st one) on the forum.

IIRC the 0-100 figure of 4.0 Seconds for the X-Drive variant of this B3 was the fastest accelerating Alpina in 2013/14.

Quick question about the steering/paddle shifters. I just noticed a ' + ' sign but the paddle shifters are not visible, so is it that Alpina version has omitted the paddle shifters in favour of buttons ? If so what are your thoughts compared to the 335i you used which had proper paddles.

Happy New Year 2021, Enjoy

You are right. Alpinas do traditionally use buttons at the back of the wheel instead of paddle shifters, though paddle shifters are an option on the current generation. The reason for this is historic. Alpina's founder Bukard Bovensiepen (the father of the current CEO) invented the steering wheel buttons from which F1 teams took the inspiration to invest paddle shifters, a different form of the same idea. In terms of how do they compare with paddle shifters, initial impressions are good. The Alpina buttons are very satisfying to press but I suspect in hardcore cornering, they will not be as easy to access as paddle shifters. All that said, I never do hardcore cornering so they suit me just fine.

[AMG Power]

The maximum speed limit on most roads in Singapore is 50 - 70 kmph (depending on the zone - even lower in school zones). On the expressway this is increased to 90 kmph / 80 kmph in tunnels.

There are penalty points for exceeding the speed limit even by 1 km/h. There are speed sensors all over that catch anyone that exceeds the speed limit.

Given these restrictions, is it possible to try out the speeds the car can do?

[utkarshmohan86]

Originally Posted by AMG Power

The maximum speed limit on most roads in Singapore is 50 - 70 kmph (depending on the zone - even lower in school zones). On the expressway this is increased to 90 kmph / 80 kmph in tunnels.

There are penalty points for exceeding the speed limit even by 1 km/h. There are speed sensors all over that catch anyone that exceeds the speed limit.

Given these restrictions, is it possible to try out the speeds the car can do?

A couple of thoughts here. Firstly exceeding the speed limit in Singapore is definitely not recommended and frankly a city, any city whether it be a city state with expressways like Singapore is not the place for breakneck speeds.

That said , there is speed and there is acceleration. There is a thrill in experiencing acceleration even at speeds below 100 kmph though I strongly recommend one does that when the conditions are right without putting others as risk.

As far as speed is concerned, Singaporean petrolheads usually pop over the border to Malaysia which I have often called the last bastion of the petrol head (cheap petrol about Rs 30/ltr, some massive well constructed highways which compare favourably in size to the German autobahn ( i speak from driving in both extensively) and a speed limit which isn't enforced that well)

Personally my need for speed was long quenched in the first four or five Kuala lumpur to Singapore round trips I took when I got my 335i so absolute speed is not something I aspire for anymore. Frankly after the thrill of doing it the first few times, you realise how much concentration it takes so in subsequent trips you tend to just go slower but more relaxed and look for a more stable car at high speeds (part of what led me to the Alpina). All this said, it does have to be done or one will never know.

[ChiragM]

Hi utkarshmohan86,

Welcome to the forum. Lovely car you have there. I have always admired Alpinas when I was in the UK. Sadly never got a go in them.

As far as speed is concerned, Singaporean petrolheads usually pop over the border to Malaysia which I have often called the last bastion of the petrol head

I am sure a lot of Singaporean petrolheads just take their cars to the Sepang racetrack to enjoy what the car can really do (supercar owners). Yours is the perfect car for city use + those occasional drives outside the city.

Wish you a happy new year and drive safe.

[v1p3r]

Beautiful car, Utkarsh! Your passion and love for your car, and cars in general, are shining through. And those wheels, well they're just... (drools in AL/Mg)

I seriously considered a E46 B3 coupe when I was buying a car - my colleague had one, and seeing its muscular stance and those wheels every day in the parking lot really had me hooked. In the end, the serviceability and upgrades made me go the Japanese way.

Anorak fact - most Alpina wheels have no visible valves. They pioneered a valve in the hub area, passing through the spokes. Is yours one of these? Can't make out from the pics.

(continues to drool at wheels...)

[sgm]

Welcome Utkarsh. What a car and what a thread. Amazing car. I had no idea about Alpina till I saw your thread, though I used to check on the Brabus tuned AMG cars. It is good to hear that they bring out the regular BMWs in tuned form, so you can get that daily driver performance car without entering the M3 territory

Is an M340i a close match to an Aplina B3 bi-turbo?

Please keep updating this post with follow ups and your experiences.

[suhaas307]

Welcome to the Forum, Utkarsh! Fantastic report to start your innings as a member!

Alpinas have always been one of my favourite ‘unofficial’ tuning outfits, along with Porsche’s Ruf and Mercedes’ Brabus. The passion in these builds really comes through!

With the dilution of the ‘//M’ sub-brand, effectively relegating it to a trim-level, Alpina can be deemed that much more special these days.

What I particularly like is their attention to detail and subtle approach in tweaking the package. One example of outstanding attention to detail would be the classic Alpina wheels with the tyre air-pressure nozzle/valve integrated into the hub cap and spoke - designed with the intent to provide the wheel-rim a clean and uninterrupted face that would otherwise be corrupted by a visible nozzle. Fantastic stuff!

All the best to you, and hope to see you updating this thread as frequently as possible!

[utkarshmohan86]

Originally Posted by ChiragM

Hi utkarshmohan86,

Welcome to the forum. Lovely car you have there. I have always admired Alpinas when I was in the UK. Sadly never got a go in them.



I am sure a lot of Singaporean petrolheads just take their cars to the Sepang racetrack to enjoy what the car can really do (supercar owners). Yours is the perfect car for city use + those occasional drives outside the city.

Wish you a happy new year and drive safe.

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Beautiful car, Utkarsh! Your passion and love for your car, and cars in general, are shining through. And those wheels, well they're just... (drools in AL/Mg)

I seriously considered a E46 B3 coupe when I was buying a car - my colleague had one, and seeing its muscular stance and those wheels every day in the parking lot really had me hooked. In the end, the serviceability and upgrades made me go the Japanese way.

Anorak fact - most Alpina wheels have no visible valves. They pioneered a valve in the hub area, passing through the spokes. Is yours one of these? Can't make out from the pics.

(continues to drool at wheels...)

Originally Posted by sgm

Welcome Utkarsh. What a car and what a thread. Amazing car. I had no idea about Alpina till I saw your thread, though I used to check on the Brabus tuned AMG cars. It is good to hear that they bring out the regular BMWs in tuned form, so you can get that daily driver performance car without entering the M3 territory

Is an M340i a close match to an Aplina B3 bi-turbo?

Please keep updating this post with follow ups and your experiences.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Welcome to the Forum, Utkarsh! Fantastic report to start your innings as a member!

Alpinas have always been one of my favourite ‘unofficial’ tuning outfits, along with Porsche’s Ruf and Mercedes’ Brabus. The passion in these builds really comes through!

With the dilution of the ‘//M’ sub-brand, effectively relegating it to a trim-level, Alpina can be deemed that much more special these days.

What I particularly like is their attention to detail and subtle approach in tweaking the package. One example of outstanding attention to detail would be the classic Alpina wheels with the tyre air-pressure nozzle/valve integrated into the hub cap and spoke - designed with the intent to provide the wheel-rim a clean and uninterrupted face that would otherwise be corrupted by a visible nozzle. Fantastic stuff!

All the best to you, and hope to see you updating this thread as frequently as possible!

Thanks all. Yup it is absolutely correct that Alpina wheels have no visible valves. You have to unscrew the hubcaps to access time which makes filling air in the tyres more time-taking but hey, it's part of the experience I guess. I kid..it's a pain but I'm not complaining.

In terms of comparing vs. the G20 M340i, I would say the Alpina would be still be in a different league...really the F30 M3 is the best comparison in terms of straight line performance. However in the real word, the M340i has Xdrive, so it would probably beat the Alpina off the line unless you have an expert driver. The real difference would come in as speeds get higher.